Restaurant businesses were hit hard last year and are still on their way to get back to normal. This is especially true for fancy dine-ins that needed to diversify their services to stay afloat. As the owner of such a restaurant, you need to work twice as hard to get back on track and attract even more customers than before. Here are a few tips that will help you do exactly that.
Rethink the interior design
Design trends change with time and your current interior may not be as attractive to younger generations today. Evaluate the look of the space and think about whether it’s time for a style upgrade. Try to create a cozy, comfortable atmosphere with a variety of seating options so every customer can feel at home.
Take charming pictures
Most people will look up your restaurant on the internet before committing to entering, and you want to make a great impression through the pictures that you post online, whether they will be your website’s header or just a social media post. Photography has the power to make things look better, but also worse, so be careful how you photograph your interior and dishes. Great pictures do not equal expensive gear; you can take perfectly suitable photos with your phone. However, you do need to know the ins and outs of great food photography for a mouthwatering result.
Boost your online presence
As we just said, how you appear online will affect how many people decide to walk through your door. You want your photos to be seen by a lot of people since you invested so much energy in getting them perfect, so, focus on boosting your online presence. Make sure you are listed on directories like Google My Business so customers can easily find you, keep your website minimalistic and professional-looking, and stay active on social media. Take advantage of social media features like geotagging.
Offer free Wi-Fi
Offering free Wi-Fi in your restaurant won’t cost you a lot but can mean a lot in terms of traffic. If people know that you have reliable internet, they will be likely to choose you when they are on the go a need to get a connection. Having free Wi-Fi will also make customers’ wait for their food less tiresome. Just don’t forget to change your password often so that only paying customers to have access to your internet.
Improve the exterior
People inevitably judge books by their cover, so giving your restaurant an attractive “cover” will certainly draw the attention of passers-by. Keep your windows sparkling clean, add some plants to make the space more inviting, change your awnings and be sure to offer comfortable outdoor seating. If your current façade leaves a lot to be desired, consider contacting experts in house rendering from Sydney to give it a facelift. Rendering can also potentially improve the insulation of the space so it’s an investment that’s twice as worth it.
Organize events
One of the best ways to draw more foot traffic to your restaurants would be to give customers more reasons to show up. You can do this by organizing events on your premises. Consider live music nights which will boost the social aspect of your establishment immensely. Showing sporting events has a similar effect. You can also lend your space to wine tastings, workshops, book signings, and other similar events – visitors will get to know your restaurant and might come back if you manage to sweep them off their feet.
Take orders the modern way
A lot of people still enjoy a traditional dine-in, but in this day and age, you can expand your customer base considerably if you think progressively and implement a variety of ways customers can buy from you. Allowing online ordering in the future, but you can even take it a step further and use an app for managing these orders. Making ordering easy and streamlined will make it more likely that busy customers will go for your restaurant as opposed to a competing one. Keep in mind that food delivery is a more complicated issue than meets the eye, though.
Promotions all the way
Finally, another way to boost your restaurant’s traffic is by keeping things interesting. Always have different promotions running and change them up frequently so customers will be inclined to come back and check out what’s new. Don’t forget to advertise your promotions appropriately: post them on your social media profiles and display them in a noticeable spot, both outside and inside the establishment. You can also consider cross-promotion with a local business if there is any suitable one in your vicinity.
You have to do everything to make your restaurant stand out from the crowd if you want to succeed. Boosting its appearance and making sure that people can find it, both online and in-person, are crucial. Hopefully, these tips will help you out.
Author bio:
Alison Pearson is an interior design student. She is a writer and designer, and her ultimate passion is art and architecture. She is also a bibliophile and her favourite book is “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. Follow her on Twitter.